The Drowned Boy
by SourRazzles
Summary: Human AU. When high school student Percy Jackson's body is found dead in the small town of Lakeshore, nobody feels safe. Even knowing it isn't their business, three friends, Reyna, Nico, and Will take on the case. They will soon come to learn that not everything is what it seems, and not everyone is telling the truth. NO ROMANCE. Only three friends solving a mystery.
1. Chapter 1

The night that it happened, Nico was sitting his room finishing his homework. The air outside was warm and muggy. Outside his window, the sounds of bugs and animals were loud.

Nico bit the end of his pencil, try to figure out the math problem he was on. Even though it was a Friday night, Nico still wanted to get some homework some early. No doubt Hazel was down stairs on the phone talking with her boyfriend.

The evening seemed so normal at first. Until Hazel stepped into Nico's room. He looked over to see her face, which was covered in tears.

"What's the matter?" He asked.

She sniffled. "Percy… Percy Jackson, he's dead."

Nico dropped his pencil and his eyes widened. "What? How?"

Hazel shrugged. "Drowned. In the lake down the road. Frank just told me, words spread pretty quickly."

"You mean Timber Lake?" He asked. "That makes no sense. Swimming there is off limits."

"I know. And Percy is the best swimmer in the school, he could hold his breath for hours." Hazel shook her head. "And it was so close to here."

"Where was the body found?"

"I'm not sure. By the pathway I think, maybe by the docks. Still, that's very close to our house."

She was right. The lake was right next to the path that led to their families manor.

"Don't worry, Hazel." Nico said, walking over to his half sister and giving her a hug. Just then, their father stepped into the room.

"Hazel, I must speak with you." He said.

"Okay," Hazel muttered, and followed him out the door.

Nico went back to his desk and picked up his cell phone. There were no messages, not even from Will or Reyna. Maybe they hadn't gotten word yet. Nico sat back and thought for a moment. Percy Jackson was an amazing swimmer, so it's unlikely he could have just fell in and couldn't get out. Also, why was Percy even by the lake in the first place. The only road that went by it was the one going straight to Nico and Hazel's house. There was a lot that didn't make sense about this.

Just then, Nico's phone buzzed. It was a text from Reyna.

 _Meet Will and me at the beginning of the trail tomorrow morning._ It said.

Nico texted back, _Okay._ Then shut his homework book.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day.


	2. Chapter 2

Reyna stood behind the police fence, in front of the trail that led to Nico's house. The air hadn't changed much from last night, so it still felt as unsettling as it did the night before. As warm as it was, Reyna had goose bumps on her arms. It didn't help that she was standing in front of a crime scene. Other people had started crowding around her.

Annabeth, Percy's girlfriend, ran up to the front, crying.

"Where is he?" She shouted. "This can't be happening."

Piper ran up next to her and gave her a hug. "Shhh, Annabeth. It's going to be alright."

"No," Annabeth screamed. "No, he can't be dead. He can't be."

It hurt Reyna badly to see Annabeth like that.

All of a sudden, Will Solace walked up next to Reyna. He shook his head. "I can't believe this happened, and so close to Nico's house."

Reyna nodded. "Frank told me. How'd you find out?"

"This morning, on the news." Will said.

They both looked over at the scene until they saw Nico and Hazel walking down that road. They moved passed the policemen and ducked under that tape.

"Sorry I'm late." Nico said. "Some of the police men were questioning us."

"Did they think you had something to do with it?" Will asked.

Nico shrugged. "We're considered suspects. Since it happened so close to our house."

Hazel put her hand on her brother's shoulder. "I'm going to go find Frank. I'll see you later." She said, then ran off.

"You guys should come to my house. Hylla's making pancakes." Reyna said. They all agreed and started walking down the road.

The town of Lakeshore was small, and quiet. It was more like a village than a town. They didn't even have a school, which meant a forty minute bus ride to the next town over. It was surrounded by woods and swamp, so who knew what could have been out there. Everybody from the town knew each other, and it was hard to keep secrets there. But the reason why someone would kill a teenager was a whole different problem.

As they got to Reyna's house, Reyna's neighbor, Octavian, was standing outside washing his car. Octavian was another student that went to there school, and he lived with his grandmother. The difference between them was that his grandmother was the sweetest old woman Reyna had ever met, and Octavian… not so much.

But today, he seemed to be in a cheerful mood. He whistled as he sprayed the water onto his shiny red mazda3.

"What is wrong with you?" Will said to him. "Someone just died down the road you know."

Octavian looked over and frowned. "Oh, I know. It's very sad. But, a car still needs to be washed, and I'd rather not do it thinking about death at the moment."

"Will, just leave him alone." Reyna said. She'd dealt with Octavian enough to know when not to start an argument.

Will scowled. "Fine." He turned his back and started walking up to Reyna house. Nico and her followed behind.

Inside, Reyna's sister, Hylla, stood at the stove, cooking a pancake. She looked at them. "Hey, you guys hungry?"

"Starving." Nico said. "The police gave my dad so much trouble, I didn't have time to eat."

"What exactly did they ask you?" Reyna asked, sitting down at the table.

Nico shrugged. "Just what we knew about Percy, and what we were doing the time he died. I told them the truth. I knew Percy, and I was in my room the whole night."

Will looked down. "I hadn't talked to Percy at all yesterday. Now that I think about it, I didn't see him at all yesterday."

"I did." Reyna said. "I think he skipped some of his classes, he didn't look in a very good mood."

They sat silently for a moment. It seemed so bizarre.

"I'm sure the police will figure it out." Will said finally.

"That doesn't make me feel any safer." Said Reyna. "There's no a lot of people in this town. Who would have a reason for murder?"

"Maybe it wasn't matter." Nico suggested.

Reyna raised her eyebrow. "You mean suicide?"

Nico put his hands up. "I have no idea."

Hylla served everyone a pancake and asked, "Where was the body found anyway?"

"At the small cove by the docks." Nico answered.

"I heard on the news a woman found the body this morning when she was walking her dog." Will said, filling his mouth with pancake.

Reyna's eyes narrowed. "Frank told me last night."

"Me too." Nico said.

Will looked confused. "But, the police didn't find until early this morning. How would Frank know?"

An uneasy feeling settled over them.

Nico broke the silence. "Guys, this is crazy. How can we be sure Frank knows something?"

"It wouldn't hurt to ask." Reyna said. "Again, until the police figure out what happened, I want to know I can sleep safely in my own house. It doesn't help that I live right next door to Octavian."

All three of them shuddered in unison at the sound as his name as a joke, then they all laughed.

"Just don't get yourselves murdered." Hylla said.

"Are we seriously going to do this?" Will asked.

Nico shrugged and put his hand in the middle of the table. Reyna put her hand on his, then Will put his hand in too. They were in this together.


	3. Chapter 3

By Sunday, the police had left the path clear, but the lake was closed off to all boats. That day, Will, Reyna, and Nico walked up and down, looking for anything they could find. Obviously, the police would've taken any evidence they found with them, so it was kind of pointless, but it was worth a shot. After finding nothing, they went to the other side of the lake. As they walked through the woods, Nico told them what was going on at his house. He said that his father was pretty angry.

When they got to the other side, they began searching the ground for any clues. Will looked over the water. The sunlight made it sparkle and clear. He looked down and squinted. A little far into the lake was the corner of something white. Will crouched and leaned forward, trying to grab it. Unfortunately, he leaned too far in, and just as he was about to fall into water, Reyna took hold of him arm and pulled him back.

He turned back. "Thanks."

"No problem." She said. She held his arm while he reached forward and finally grabbed the white object.

He washed the mud off with the lake water and looked at it. "Uh, guy. You're gonna wanna see this." Nico and Reyna stood beside him and looked at it. It was a card… Percy's student ID.

"Oh my god," Reyna whispered.

"Hey!" Someone shouted behind them. "What the hell are you kids doing over here?"

All three of them turned around to see a man with a dog coming towards them. They backed up.

"We're sorry. We'll be leaving now." Reyna said.

"You'd better. You know somebody drowned here." He said.

Reyna took Nico and Will's and dragged them away. "We know. We're going."

When they made it back to the other side of the lake, Nico pulled his hand away from Reyna and started rubbing it. "Who was that?"

"His names Gabe." Reyna grumbled. "He lives over there, in a small house. He barely ever some out."

"Why haven't I ever seen him?" Nico asked.

"I'm surprised I've even seen him." Reyna said. "When I was little, Hylla and I were fishing on that side of the lake. He came up to us and started talking. But that was the last time I ever actually talked to him. I will see him around town though, but mostly late at night."

Will shrugged. "I've never seen him either. Isn't he kind of creepy?"

"There's a lot of people who are creepy in this town." Nico said. They all had to agreed on that.

As they walked back to Nico's house, they saw Frank and Hazel passing. Frank had his head down, and it looked like Hazel was trying to cheer him up.

"Hey, guys." Hazel said. She looked over at Will's hand and saw part of the card. "What's that?"

"Just my student ID." Will lied. "How have you guys been dealing with the news?"

Frank looked up. "I found out early. A friend of my mom's, a police officer, gave us a heads up."

Reyna's eyes narrowed. She was good at reading people. Something about Frank's body language told Reyna that wasn't the whole truth. But she decided to let it go for now.

"Well, we need to get going." Nico said, and started walking. "I'll see you tonight Hazel." Reyna and Will followed.

Will looked at Reyna. "Does that usually happen? I mean, police officers tell people earlier than the news?"

Reyna shrugged. Her dad, along with Frank's mom, were in the military, so they had a lot of friends who were police officers, but Reyna's dad was on an army base. So, maybe her family just didn't get a massage. It was all very confusing.

When they got to Nico's house, they went straight up to his room. Nico went into his desk and pulled out a yellow file folder. "Let's keep evidence we find in here."

Will held up the student ID. "I'm going to put this in a plastic bag, just in case."

Reyna sat down on the bed. "Too bad we couldn't do a DNA test. Although, it would probably have your DNA on it too now Will."

Will's face turned red. "Well, I'm sorry I wasn't wearing gloves."

Reyna giggled. "I was joking. But you're right. We need to keep everything we find safe."

They all agreed, and now they were one step closer to solving the case.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading so far, and reviews are appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 4

The end of the school day was both the best and the worst part of Reyna's Monday. She loved being leader of the student council. But the bad part was, Octavian was also a part of it, and she hated dealing with him. Fortunately, Frank, Hazel, and Jason were with her. But everyone was bummed out ever since Percy's death. After they all sat down at the table in their meeting hall, Octavian stood up.

"I'd like to be the first to say that we all are very upset about the death of Percy Jackson, and that he will forever be in our hearts."

"You didn't seem so upset about it all weekend." Hazel grumbled.

Octavian gave the most fake heart broken look. "I was upset. But the show must go on, as they say." He turned to Frank, who had tears in his eyes. "Oh, come on Frank. It wasn't like there was anything you could do."

Frank turned his head away from everyone.

"Leave him alone, Octavian." Jason said.

Before Octavian got a chance to open his mouth, Reyna jumped in.

She gave him a glare. "Octavian, sit down." She ordered.

He sighed and sat down. The rest of the meeting wasn't like they used to be, almost nothing got done.

At the end of the meeting, they all left. As they left the school, Reyna caught up with Frank.

"Hey, don't let him bother you. You didn't have anything to do with it." She said.

Frank blinked away tears. "But I did. I saw Percy the that day."

"What do you mean?"

He turned to her. "Reyna, I can trust you, right. You won't tell anybody, not even Hazel."

"I promise, nobody will find out." She insisted.

"Okay… okay." He took a deep breath and looked around to make sure no one was listening. "So, that day, the day he died. He was walking, and he must have dropped his student ID, because I found it laying in the hallway. I didn't see him the rest of the school day, but that evening when I was walking home from Hazel and Nico's house, I saw him also walking down the path. He looked in a hurry. When I asked him where he was going, he just said to meet someone. He wouldn't tell me who. So, I gave him his ID, and he just kept walking. But, when I was walking back, on my way home… I… I…" Frank shook his head. "I saw him fall into the water. Well, I heard him. There was a loud splash, on the other side of the lake. When I hid, and tried to see what it was, I could tell it was Percy. But there was someone else, I don't know who though. I freaked out, and I ran back to my house. Apparently, on the way back, Octavian must have seen me. I don't how. But when I got back home, I panicked. I got on the phone and talked to Hazel. I was so stressed out, that… I told her he was dead. I hoped he wouldn't be but, he was. I saw him get murdered." Frank began to break down crying.

Reyna put her hand on his back. "How do you know Octavian saw you?"

"He told me the next day that he saw me running back to my house. I think he thinks I'm the one who killed Percy, but I wasn't. Reyna you believe me!" He looked into her eyes.

She nodded. "I do. You didn't kill Percy, Frank. And Octavian has no proof, don't worry about him. Go home and get some rest."

"Okay, You're not going to tell anyone are you?"

Reyna tried so hard not to hesitate. "Nobody has to know." She lied right to his face.

He sighed in relief. "Thanks, Reyna." Then he walked away. Reyna watched him with a guilty look.

Frank trusted her, she considered not even tell Nico and Will. But it was important if they were going to figure out actually killed Percy. Now she knew a little more of what went down.

In the front parking lot, she saw Hylla's car coming to pick her up. She walked over and got in.

 **A/N: Sorry for the long update time, but I've been busy. Also, I need motivation, and tonight my motivation is it's 10 o'clock at night and I've got nothing else to do. So, I hope you're enjoying the story so far, and comments are appreciated. Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

"So that's how Hazel found out." Nico noted, after Reyna finished telling them Frank's story.

"We can't tell anyone, I promised Frank." Reyna said.

Will nodded. "Wouldn't think of it."

"But that doesn't give us much more information." Nico muttered. "The other side of the lake."

"Gabe?" Will suggested.

Nico shook his head. "What would Gabe have to do with Percy?"

"What would Gabe have to do with anyone?" Said Reyna. "He barely comes out of his house."

Will tried to think. "You guys are right, we should accuse him right away. But there's one person we really need to talk to."

"Who?"

"Annabeth," Will said. "She might have some information, anything we could use."

Reyna crossed her arms. "You really want to interrogate Annabeth?"

Will put his hands up. "No, I don't. But anything she could tell might be useful."

Nico nodded. "Will's right. But I think Reyna should be the one to talk to her, only Reyna."

They all agreed. Reyna pulled her phone out. "I'll see if she wants to come over tomorrow after school."

The door to Nico's room opened. It was Nico's father. "Son, dinner is ready. You're friends need to leave."

"Okay," Nico said.

All three of them said goodbye, then Reyna and Will left the house.

They started walking down the path together, neither of them saying anything. They made their way down the road. Suddenly, Will stopped in front of Percy's house.

"Reyna, look." He said, pointing. They peeked through the window, and they saw Percy's mom, and Gabe. They looked like they were arguing. Gabe left and went out the front door, stopping when he saw Will and Reyna.

"What the hell are you looking?" He screamed, then stomped to the road and marched away, his hands in his pockets, muttering, "Nobody in this town will leave me alone."

Ms. Jackson stood in the doorway. She turned to Will and Reyna and smiled apologetically. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright, Ms. Jackson. How are you?" Will asked.

"Better than I have been. Everyone has been so nice. I just… Reyna miss Percy."

"We're sorry," Will decided to take a leap. "What's going on with you and Gabe?"

Surprisingly, Ms. Jackson answered. "Oh, he's just angry the police have been interrogating him a lot. But I really don't think he did it. He wouldn't hurt Percy."

"How did he know Percy?"

"Well, Gabe and I dated for a bit, and Percy and him didn't really get along. But when we broke up, that was it. I know it seems like Gabe killed him, but he really didn't." She gave off a look, that clearly said for them to let it go.

"Goodbye, Ms. Jackson," Reyna said, as they started walking. Ms. Jackson went back into the house.

"I still think it was Gabe." Will said.

"We have no proof." Said Reyna. She was about to say something else but for they heard a voice behind them.

"There you are Reyna." They turned around to see Octavian.

"What do you want?"

He held up a letter. "I wanted to bring this to you. It was delivered to my house by accident. It has your name of it." He handed to her. "Well, I need to be going. See you later." With that, he just walked away.

Reyna raised her eyebrow and stared to the letter. It was just a plain what envelope, nothing written. "That's strange." She said.

"Open it," Will suggested.

Reyna shrugged and ripped it open. She pulled out a lined piece of paper, and they both looked. What they saw was really weird.

"It's a… shopping list." Reyna said, and it was. Just a note with a list of things like bread, eggs, milk, frozen pizza, and other things. "Ummm… Okay, Octavian's weird, but this is a new low."

"What's on the back?" Will asked.

She turned it over. There was writing, in red pen. It said, _Meet me on the other side of the lake tonight._ And a heart.

Reyna was so stunned, that she dropped the paper. "What?!"

Will started laughing nervously. "What the hell was that?"

"I swear, next time I see Octavian, I am going to rip him apart." Reyna threatened. "Is this some kind of joke?"

Will picked up the paper. "I'm so confused. So, are you going to do it?"

"Hell no. Are you kidding me?" She took the letter from him. "I have a headache. I'm going to go home. See you tomorrow, alright."

Will nodded. "Right. Bye."

"Bye."

 **A/N: Once again, late night writing. Thank you all soooooo much for all the great reviews. They're really motivating me. Keep them coming please. I'd also love to here some theories. Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

Reyna enjoyed spending time with Annabeth. They never really had any time to hang out. Annabeth was always busy, either with school, or with Percy. But now, that Percy was gone, Annabeth hadn't really been caring as much about her homework. She just spent time sitting around her house, being sad.

Together, they sat in Reyna's room, first just discussing school, then other things. All through talking Reyna tried to make it as little awkward as possible. They barely even talked about Percy. Reyna was afraid to bring it up, but she had to.

"So, did you see Percy that day?" Reyna asked.

Annabeth put her head down. "Yeah. We talked for a while." Tears started forming in her eyes. Reyna put her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Annabeth," She said.

Annabeth stood up and paced around the room. She was clearly shaken up, Reyna felt bad for even asking. Suddenly, Annabeth looked down at Reyna's desk. She pointed to a piece of paper.

"Where did you get that?" She asked.

Reyna stood up and looked. It was the note Octavian gave her.

"That's nothing. Just an unwanted note." Reyna said.

"Where did you get it?" Annabeth repeated.

"Octavian," She answered. "He gave it to me yesterday."

Annabeth started breathing heavily. "Why would Octavian have it?"

"Annabeth, what's wrong?"

She didn't answer, instead, she picked up the paper and turned it over to see the shopping list. Her hand started shaking.

"Annabeth?" Reyna asked again.

Annabeth blinked away tears. "Octavian didn't writing this…. I did."

"To Percy?"

"No," She blinked away tears. "To Luke."

Reyna's eyes narrowed. "Who's Luke?"

Annabeth took a deep breath, then went to sit back down on Reyna's bed, still holding the piece of paper. "Luke is my ex boyfriend. Two years ago, we dated. He lived in a different town, so no one here would know him. The last time I saw him, he had ran away from home and come to see me. I wrote him this letter, and we met by the lake. But after that, I don't know where he went. The next few days, I never saw him. He was reported missing, maybe dead. But his body was never found. It's been two years and he's still gone. I've searched the wood, but he isn't there." She bit her lip. "I've killed two people I've loved."

Reyna shook her head. "Annabeth, none of this is your fault. Besides, you didn't even see Percy that night."

When Annabeth looked up at Reyna, her eyes were covered with guilt.

"You _did_ see Percy that night?" Reyna asked.

"The lake is where we usually went to talk. But that night, we got into a huge argument. I-I pushed him, and he fell into the water. But he didn't drown, I helped him out. He was soaking wet, so I wanted to walk home with him and get him dry. I said I was sorry, but he just he wouldn't listen. He walked away, and into the woods. I tried to run after him, but…. But I tripped and fell, and I hurt my foot. When I managed to get up. I looked and looked, but I couldn't find him. He wasn't answering his phone. So, I went home. The next day, I got the news that he was dead." She shrugged. "And it was my fault. I should have kept looking for him. I should have stopped him for killing himself."

"Annabeth, you got in one argument. Why would he kill himself over it?"

"I have no idea. But what other reason would he have?"

"There are some crazy people in this town." Reyna warned. "There a reason Octavian had your note. Did Percy seem different in any way that night?"

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Yes, he did. He wasn't the same. He never would have walked off like he did. And I never should have pushed him. It was stupid."

"What were you guys arguing about?"

"I really don't want to talk about that. But it wasn't anything Percy would kill himself over." She stayed silent for a moment until asking. "Reyna, why do you want to know all this? Why did Octavian give you the note?"

Reyna crossed her arms. "Something is wrong with this place. I don't feel safe here anymore. Not that I ever felt safe living next to Octavian. But I want to figure it out, and everything you can tell me would be helpful. That it, if you trust me."

"Of course I trust you. You're my friend. And, thanks for caring. What do you want to know?"

Reyna thought for a minute. "What time did you and Percy meet?"

"Eight o'clock. We stayed there for around a half an hour."

Reyna took out a piece of paper and started writing things down. Annabeth didn't seem to mind he taking notes.

"You're not going to tell anyone this, are you?" Annabeth asked.

"Only Nico and Will, we're kind of solving together."

She nodded. "Keep me updated, okay?"

"Okay," Reyna said. Annabeth stood up and gave her friend a hug. It was good there were some people there was some people to trust.

They spent a little more time, sitting and talking. Annabeth told Reyna as much as she knew. Soon it was time for Annabeth to leave.

Reyna sighed, sitting at her desk and looking over her notes. A lot of things didn't add up. Where was Luke? What's Octavian know? Why was Percy acting so strange that day? The whole thing made her head spin.

She decided to go to bed early that night. Tomorrow, she would report to Nico and Will.

 **A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I've been very busy with school. I know, things are getting pretty crazy in the story, but I've got it all planned out (not really). But I have ideas! I just want you to trust me that this won't end horribly. So, thanks everyone and remember reviews are appreciated.**


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